This week, I facilitated another data deep dive session for my team at work. This activity is one of my favorite parts of doing research. Leading the team through our high-level left-to-right look across large sets of data is almost always interesting, and it’s immediately satisfying because helps everyone get on the same page as we work towards the Big Picture.

Now that I’ve facilitated a handful of these sessions for my team, I’m picking up a few tricks that make it go more smoothly. Here’s what I’ve learned:

1.      The basic approach – data sets in the morning, themes in the afternoon: For my team, we like to take a full day to go through the reports and the themes we’re trying to figure out. Well in advance, I ask individual team members to represent a data set, and to guide us through the deck, pointing out the highlights, lowlights, unexpected findings, and emergent trends. As this discussion takes place, I take notes on a flip-chart. Then, in our second session, we take what we’ve learned across the data sets, and think about them from the standpoint of major themes that build towards our big story.

2.      Process can be helpful, but it can also get in the way. I’ve been exposed to a number of facilitation & brainstorming processes techniques, but I’ve found that regardless of the technique, a formal process works best when the group doesn’t know each other well or is approaching the area from different backgrounds. With an in-tact team like ours, however, formal process seems to hinder the flow of ideas; we do best when the process is casual and we’re free to concentrate on the discussion itself.

3.      Environment is important – go somewhere different. Help your team think about the data in new ways by placing them in a new environment. This can be as simple as a conference room on a different floor of your building, or an exotic new location. For my team’s off-site this time, we went to one of Microsoft’s newest buildings, with a great view of the Seattle skyline…which reminds me of another point: conference rooms with windows provide extra inspiration.

4.      Arm everyone with information in advance. If you’re asking participants to read decks, be sure that they’re distributed early enough so they can be consumed. You may also want to set expectations (“Please set aside 4-6 hours for the pre-reading in the week before the session…”) to make sure participants’ preparation gets the attention it needs. If you’re asking specific participants to present or guide part of the discussion, make sure they’re comfortable and know how to prepare themselves.

5.      Make sure people know what’s going on. Send an introductory mail with agenda 2+ weeks in advance. If you’re giving out advance reading, be sure to distribute it as early as possible. Ask for time on team meeting agendas to preview the day and answer questions. Send a final reminder mail the day before, with any specific call-to-action.

6.      Write the agenda on the whiteboard. [A shout-out to Art of PM author Scott Berkun, who recommends this for all meetings.] Putting the agenda up serves as a visible reminder of the schedule for the day. It empowers others to help you play time-cop, and you can refer the group to it when the conversation starts to get off track. Be sure to include breaks, and pad your schedule so that  you can wrap up a little early. Everyone goes home a little happier if they’ve gotten some extra time back in the day.

7.      Use flip charts to take notes as you go.   As facilitator, writing notes on a flipchart helps keep me focused, and it also helps keep the group focused on the flow of ideas. Use multiple charts if you can, so that it’s easier to move between ideas instead of manipulating paper back and forth. When you’re done, type up the notes, or have them typed for you, so that everyone has the same record of the event (Microsoft folks: Our receptionists are often available to support us with projects like this).

a.       More flip-chart guidelines:

                                                              i.      Print. Avoid cursive, short-hand, and abbreviations.

                                                            ii.      Write big enough so that people in the back of the room can read it.

                                                          iii.      Try to write ideas down in the participants’ own words.

                                                          iv.      Write down only 1 idea per line. Keep lines as short as possible.

                                                            v.      Don’t be afraid to ask someone to repeat themselves if you missed their comment.

                                                          vi.      If a participant makes a long-winded point, ask them to summarize it in a short sentence you can write on the flip-chart

                                                        vii.      As you go, post groups of notes on the wall. Every 20-30 minutes o so, when there’s a natural break in the flow of ideas, rip off the cluster of notes and tape them on the wall (even better, get Post It flip charts with sticky backed pages to make this a quick & simple task)

8.      Keep eye-contact to keep participants engaged.  As in any public-speaking, eye-contact is critical. Especially when you’re at the front of the room and holding a magic marker.

9.      Don’t forget the little details. Filling in the small details up-front will free up participants’ minds to focus on the big ideas. Be sure to cover details like “when can I take a break?” What are we doing for lunch” and “where’s the bathroom” so that your participants can let their curious minds wander over more important topics. Try to take care of basics, like having print-outs of reports in advance if possible, and making sure there are plenty of pens and notepads in easy reach for participants. For bonus points, bring some healthy snacks to share during the day. Snacks will help keep your participants’ energy up—and will keep them from wandering off to find a vending machine!

10.  Be flexible. If the group seems to be taking the conversation in a different direction, give them a choice between pursuing it, or sticking to the time-limits of the agenda. And always check in with the leader, to see if there’s anything else they want to cover, a couple of times throughout the day.